Michael Eric Dyson, the renowned social analyst, best-selling author, ordained minister and University Professor of Sociology at Georgetown University, who is considered one of the finest thinkers in the United States, will speak at Hudson County Community College’s Lecture Series. Dr. Dyson’s appearance is scheduled for Thursday, February 11 at 6 p.m. in the Scott Ring Room of the College’s Culinary Arts Institute/Conference Center, 161 Newkirk Street in Jersey City – just two blocks from the Grove Street PATH station.

A prolific author whose writings have explored the lives of Malcolm X, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., singer Marvin Gaye and entertainer Bill Cosby, Dr. Dyson has also written about the cultural significance of rap in Between God and Gangsta Rap, on Hurricane Katrina in Come Hell or High Water, and on matters of race in America in Debating Race.

Dr. Dyson has taught at some of this nation’s most prestigious universities (including Brown, UNC at Chapel Hill, Columbia and University of Pennsylvania), and the Chronicle of Higher Education once wrote that his fiery and fearless oratory “can rock classroom and chapel alike.”

Born in Detroit in 1958, Dyson grew up in a comfortable middle class family. As a child, he developed his oratorical skills by delivering speeches to the members of his Baptist church. While attending a prestigious boarding school, he encountered his first personal experiences with racism and returned to public high school. By the time he was to graduate high school he was a teenage father-to-be, living on welfare, and known on the streets as a hustler. Throughout everything, he continued to attend the Baptist church, and by the time he was 21, he had studied and become an ordained minister.

Dr. Dyson pursued his love of learning and journalism through his studies at Knoxville College and Carson-Newman College, where he earned his bachelor’s degree with honors. He then went on to earn a master’s degree and doctoral degree from Princeton University. He is a much sought-after social commentator who has appeared on a wide variety of television and radio programs, and he has hosted his own nationally syndicated radio show, “The Michael Eric Dyson Show.”

“The theme of this year’s lecture series is ‘Reaching New Heights,’ and Dr. Dyson has devoted his life to doing just that,” said HCCC President Dr. Glen Gabert. “It is an honor to have Dr. Dyson appear here at Hudson County Community College. We are certain that everyone will find his lecture engrossing, enlightening and inspiring,” Dr. Gabert stated.

There are a limited number of free tickets available through the College’s Office of Student Activities for Dr. Dyson’s appearance. More information and tickets are available by phoning (201) 360-4195.

Dr. Gabert reminded that the third and final installment of the 2009-2010 Lecture Series is scheduled for Wednesday, March 17 when Rita Moreno – one of the few performers who has won all four of the nation’s top entertainment awards – will appear.

The post Dr. Michael Eric Dyson, One of America’s Most Inspiring and Influential Authors and Scholars,to Speak at Hudson County Community College first appeared on River View Observer.